


Heart of a Wolf

by KatrineHargrave



Series: Dark Hearts [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Angst, Angst and Romance, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-30
Packaged: 2018-01-16 19:12:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1358710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatrineHargrave/pseuds/KatrineHargrave
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Severus and Lysandra had two children. Toward the end of their time at Hogwarts, following the arrival of a new student, suspicious things are happening and an old friend has become elusive and hostile. Severus' family is once again in danger, but this time the threat is much closer to home than any of them realized.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Journey Begins/My Brother’s Girl

The air whooshed from Severus’ lungs when something landed on his sleeping form. He gasped awake to see a twelve-year-old face alight with excitement.

“Come on, Dad, wake up! It’s nearly eleven!” the child ordered.

“Five more minutes,” he groaned, putting his arm over his eyes.

The boy groaned as well, hopped off his father’s stomach to his mother’s side of the bed, selected a feather pillow, and smacked it over the arm Severus was using to shield his eyes.

“Oof! Merlin’s beard, boy!” He finally sat up with a mock-frown. “How many times have I got to tell you not to do that?”

He hung his head and fiddled with his hand. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

Severus sighed, ruffling his son’s hair. “I’m only joking.” He pulled his own pillow from behind him and hit the boy in the arm with it.

“Augustus Prince!” Lysandra called from the bottom of the stairs. “I told you to wake him up, not start a fight!”

Severus chuckled. “Go back downstairs. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” He scooted to the edge of the bed and jumped off, running across the room and down the stairs.

Severus shut the door behind him, shaking his head. That boy most certainly belonged in Gryffindor; no one had been surprised when the Sorting Hat put him there. As he pulled on his usual black attire, he wondered how his daughter would be placed. Evadne had the intelligence of Ravenclaw, ambition of a Slytherin, dedication of a Hufflepuff, and the bravery of a Gryffindor, but she was so _quiet_. He was afraid that she would be as ostracized as he was in school.

As it happened, she was leaving her room just as he passed it.

“Morning, Dad,” she greeted him sweetly, wrapping her arms low around his waist and pressing her cheek into his stomach.

He leaned over slightly to hug her back. “Good morning. Are you excited?” She would be Sorted into her House this afternoon.

She nodded against his shirt and looked up at him. “I am.” But her bright blue eyes, the exact same shade as her mother’s, showed only mild curiosity. He knew she was trying to calculate which house she would be Sorted into.

“Evadne! If you want breakfast, you’d better get down here now!” Lysandra called. Eva let go of her father and hurried down the stairs.

Severus rolled his eyes with a smirk, following his daughter to the ground floor. Lyssa was always extra-stressed on September first. It was even worse this year, now that the entire family would be going on the same day, what with the children being students and the adults being teachers. Even his mother had gotten a job at Hogwarts. She took over the Transfigurations classes when Minerva became Headmistress; apparently, in France, she’d spent quite a lot of time practicing that sort of magic, though she still refused to tell him or Lyssa what exactly she’d been using it for.

“Good morning, my love,” Lysandra said when he entered the kitchen.

He muttered his own greeting and crossed the room to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “What have you made us?”

She scoffed. “I made nothing. Eileen was here a little while ago cooking them breakfast while I showered and got ready. I woke up late.”

Severus shook his head at her. “I keep telling you to take showers at night, but you never bloody listen to me.”

“Mum, it’s time to go!” August shouted, making Lysandra jump.

She checked the clock, saw that it was 10:58, and just like that, she went into harried-mother-determined-to-be-on-time mode. Severus helped her out by charming the dishes to do themselves, and then summoned all of their things from their rooms down to the front hallway. Severus and his wife helped the children shrink their trunks to fit in their pockets, took hold of one child each, linked arms, and apparated to Platform 9 ¾. They had just enough time to enlarge everything before they had to find Eileen on the train.

Really, they could have just waited until later and apparated to Hogsmeade, then walk from there, but August and Eva had both begged them to ride the train as a family, and neither the parents nor Eileen could refuse them, especially since Eva was being so much less reserved than usual. August, however, quickly ran off to find his friends—James Potter and Dominique and Roxanne Weasley—as soon as the train left the station. Eva just pulled a book out of her bag and buried herself in Severus’ side while Lysandra held the hand not attached to the arm he had wrapped around his daughter.

When they arrived, Eileen led the first-years off, Eva close at her side, and Severus and Lysandra sent August with the rest of the students before heading off in their own direction to finish a few things regarding their quarters and classrooms before the Sorting Ceremony.

 

Lysandra took her usual spot on Severus’ left side at the Head Table as students filed in for the Sorting Ceremony and start-of-term feast; his mother would take the seat to his right when the Sorting was finished.

The day she’d been announced as the new Transfigurations professor was…interesting. For a few weeks, the small family didn’t have a moment of privacy, because Eileen had also kept her presence mostly secret until then. The papers made a wide range of speculations as to why she’d been gone for so long, but Snape ignored all of them; all he cared about was that she was back. And that she liked his fiancée.

“Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, first-years!” she said, quieting the rest of the room rather quickly. “When I call your name, you will come up and sit on the stool, and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. Then, he will tell you which House you will be in.” She unrolled the parchment in her hand. Severus wouldn’t have taken notice of the first name, “Rohese Bonham,” if he hadn’t happened to notice August watching the girl intently, letting his face fall when she was Sorted into Ravenclaw.

He leaned toward his wife. “I think our son developed a bit of a crush on the train,” he whispered in her ear. “He looked rather disappointed that Rohese wasn’t Sorted into Gryffindor.”

Lysandra chuckled. “Poor boy. I’m sure he’ll find a way to make friends with her anyway.”

The next time either parent bothered to pay much attention was when their daughter’s name was called.

“Evadne Prince,” Eileen called.

Lysandra gripped Severus’ hand, worrying her bottom lip. He knew they were thinking the same thing: _Please put her with her brother_.

Eileen set the hat on her granddaughter’s head.

“Well, what do we have here? Another Prince? My, my, what a pleasant surprise.”

Eva blushed scarlet. The line between Lysandra’s eyes deepened a little.

“Where shall we put you?” It wondered aloud.

“Wherever I belong,” Eva muttered.

“Hmm. I see the bravery of a lioness in you, just like your brother. But you’re more bookish than he is, aren’t you?”

“Please get on with it.”

“Oh, alright. I know where you belong. Slytherin!”

Severus’ heart dropped into his stomach. Even before Voldemort’s time, Slytherin was no place for anyone that wasn’t a pure-blood, and Eva was only a half-blood, with a personality too much like her parents’ when they were in school for her own good.

Lysandra’s face was drained of color. August was looking up at them from the Gryffindor table. Eva clearly wanted to bolt from the room. Eileen barely had the composure to keep calling names.

It wasn’t even the first day of classes, and the stress had already begun.

Severus memorized which Slytherins were looking at his daughter with anything less than perfect politeness.

“This is going to be a long year, Severus,” Lysandra murmured.

“It is indeed.”

That night, the siblings stayed with their parents rather than in their own dorms. Eva moved between the other three every fifteen minutes or so, when her bouts of crying would end and then start up again, until she was too tired to move from her father’s lap.

He tried and tried to think of something, anything, to tell her to make her feel better, but even he hated Slytherin; he had done nothing but condemn it in her and August’s presence, and now she was one of them. Saying that he felt horrible was an understatement. His mother wouldn’t be able to help; she’d eventually hated it, too, despite admitting to being a true Slytherin at heart. She used to say that the arrogance of most pure-bloods had tainted that House.

So, Severus just rocked his daughter in his arms until she fell asleep and carried her to his and Lysandra’s bed and tucked her in next to her brother. He and Lyssa took the couch for the night, and both knew the next day was going to be a particularly difficult Monday.

 

_~~~Five Years Later~~~_

 

“Get him!” James Potter shouted happily as he zoomed past Eva on his broom.

August broke into an even larger smile than before, clutched the Quaffle closer, and sped off toward Louis on the other end of the Quidditch pitch; the fifth-year Weasley was playing Keeper for them in their game of girls-versus-boys; Rohese, August’s girlfriend since his fourth year, and Roxanne made up the girl’s team, while James and August made up the boy’s.

Eva was keeping score in the stands, only shifting attention from her potions book when one of them called out a score. None of them were Seekers—those were Albus and Hugo—or Beaters, just Chasers, so they’d agreed to play to one hundred points. The next score would determine the winners.

August’s whoop of joy drew Eva’s attention from her book; she looked up to see him giving James a double-hive-five while Rohese and Roxanne shook their heads. Louis flew over to the group, congratulated the winners, and seemed to give encouraging words to the losers. He was like that, always giving encouragement where he could.

Her brother flew closer to Rohese, giving her a teasing grin. She responded to whatever remark he must have made, and they leaned toward each other for a quick kiss, after which she tried to push August off his broom.

Eva looked away, jealous of her brother’s easy sociability. She’d never been able to make friends as quickly or effortlessly as he had, and she’d certainly never been able to attract boys the way he attracted girls, despite her family’s assurance that she was “quite the looker.”

She only had maybe one or two real friends other than August, and it would be nice if, say, her own House didn’t shun her for being a half-blood. For her first two years at Hogwarts, nothing had been able to stop her Housemates from terrorizing her; she’d even wound up in the infirmary a few times, much to her family’s horror and outrage.

“Eva! Are you coming?” August called, ten feet ahead of her, still on his broom.

Eva shook herself. “Uh, yes. Sorry. I let my mind wander.” She stood and started for the stairs.

It had taken both her parents and her grandmother threatening the Slytherin House for her to get some peace. Then James followed his father’s footsteps and became Quidditch captain, her brother earned a reputation for disregarding all school rules when it came to protecting his sister, and both made it very clear that Eva was not to be trifled with.

Recently, though, she hadn’t needed their protection. Lysandra had seen to that, with extra lessons in all sorts of magic.

August draped an arm across her shoulders when she met the group on the ground. His other arm was around Ro. When those two had started dating, Eva had been slightly jealous; she was now forced to share her brother’s love and attention.

He shook her gently. “Earth to Evadne. What’s the matter with you today?”

She shrugged, causing night-black hair to fall in her face, covering half of it. “I don’t know, just didn’t get enough sleep, I guess.”

August stopped mid-step, jerking the girls to a halt along with him. “Why? Is someone bothering you?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

Eva gave him a small smile. “No, nothing like that. Only a bout of insomnia,, I think.”

“Good.” He kissed her temple and the three of them resumed walking. “Will you be joining us tonight?”

“Join you where?”

Rohese was the one to answer her. “Everyone’s getting together at Hagrid’s.”

Eva knew “everyone” meant their circle of friends: the Weasleys, the Potters, herself and August, Ro, and Scorpius.

She bit her lip. “I don’t know…” the Weasley clan had practically doubled since their parents’ school days, and the Potters were usually considered Weasleys because their mother was one. Eva loved them all, of course, but sometimes they were too much.

“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun,” Ro begged. “What of Malfoy shows up? You can’t let him be the only Slytherin there.”

“And what if he doesn’t? _I’ll_ be the only one. How are we all to fit inside Hagrid’s, anyway?” She was just making excuses now; she knew Malfoy would go because he had an enormous crush on Rose Weasley, but she could never find the enthusiasm for such gatherings as the others did.

“It’s not Winter yet; it’ll be warm enough for us to hang out outside,” August explained.

Eva pursed her lips and gave in. “I supposed. But only for Malfoy.”

Ro and August grinned at her.

“Great! I’m sure you’ll have fun,” Ro assured.

“What’s taking you all so long?” Roxanne called from ahead, walking backwards so she could look at them while she moved.

“We were convincing Eva to come to the party tonight,” August answered.

“Were you successful?”

“Of course! Don’t you know Eva’s a party animal?”

They all chuckled, but Eva just smiled shyly. No matter how comfortable she felt around these people, she always found herself reverting to her reserved nature, unable to let go. It left her feeling guilty, like somehow she was letting them down.

Not Rohese, though. Yes, Eva was jealous that August wasn’t all hers, but lately, something about Ro had been setting off alarm bells in her head, which was confusing. She’d known Ro since she started at Hogwarts, and the other girl had always seemed nice enough, if a little too outgoing for Eva to handle. Eva didn’t want to say anything about her unease over Ro to August, though—he’d surely be furious about it.

“Eva, for God’s sake,” August exclaimed, catching her as she tripped over a tree root. “Pay attention.”

“Sorry, sorry,” she muttered automatically.

“Don’t apologize, just watch where you’re going,” he said, worry coloring his tone. 

* * *

 

By the time she made it to Hagrid’s, most everyone else had already arrived. Poor Scorpius was standing alone near the front door, watching the others mingle in the tiny amount of light provided by the sunset. As she got closer, though, Eva saw that he wasn’t just staring at the group—he was watching Rose.

She let herself grin she took a spot beside him. “Don’t act all nonchalant about it; I saw you looking at her,” she told him quietly, since he’d immediately dropped his gaze upon noticing his fellow Slytherin’s approach.

The third-year, mini-Draco blushed and ducked his head. “No, I wasn’t.”

“Go talk to her.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

He finally looked at her. “She’s a Gryffindor!”

Eva nodded and pulled him into her side. He rested his head on her shoulder. “I understand. Really.” She’d had her fair share of Gryffindor crushes, including James.

Malfoy sighed dejectedly. He and Evadne had somewhat of a silent understanding—whenever they were both invited to a Weasley get-together, they would stick close to one another; being the only Slytherins in a group dominated by Gryffindors was rather difficult.

“Why were we put into Slytherin, Eva?” Scorpius asked suddenly, turned his steel-gray eyes on her with an innocence that almost hurt to look at.

One side on her mouth curled up in a sad, lop-sided smile. “Maybe we were meant to follow in our fathers’ footsteps.”

His already-pale face lost all color, tears immediately pooling in his eyes. “But I don’t want to kill McGonagall! I don’t want you to, either!” Draco wasn’t the one to kill the Dumbledore, clearly, but Voldemort had meant for him to.

She obviously hadn’t thought her comment through.

“Oh, shh.” Eva wrapped her free arm around him. “Alright, that wasn’t the best prediction. I’m sorry. I’m sure that’s not it. Maybe we’re meant to make up for the mistakes they made,” she amended.

“You’re just saying that.”

“No, no, I mean it.” And the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Where their fathers had fallen into darkness because of the way they were treated, perhaps Scorpius and Evadne were supposed to overcome the bullying and prejudice they were subjected to.

She grinned. “And maybe you’re supposed to aid in the end of Slytherin’s bad rep by marrying Rose Weasley,” she said deviously.

As she disentangled herself from him and practically tossed him at the rest of the third-years, he sputtered useless protests about why that was impossible.

He did his best not to look too embarrassed, apologizing profusely for nearly knocking Molly over. After a few minutes, the little group was talking animatedly. Scorpius threw Eva a surprised yet grateful glance; she leaned back against the wall of Hagrid’s small house with a satisfied smirk on her face.

“Didn’t I tell you it would be fun?” Ro’s voice sounded beside her.

Eva jumped, the smile disappearing from her lips. “You did.”

“He’s a brave little bastard, staying over there. Too bad he didn’t walk over on his own.”

She cocked an eyebrow at the girl who professed to love her brother. “There’s nothing wrong with a little help, Rohese. He just needed a little nudge, that’s all. Literally, as it happens,” she defended.

“You know, just because you tutor him doesn’t mean you have to mother him as well,” the other girl remarked with a biting edge to her voice.

Eva raised her eyebrows again. “Oh, and I suppose Astoria Malfoy is the better choice?” She had met the woman many times, mostly during the summer when she would visit the Malfoys to give Scorpius extra tutoring sessions and because she’d grown rather close to both her student and his father. The woman was far from pleasant, constantly calling her son out on trivial things, making him feel like he was never enough. Draco had actually confided in Eva that he wanted to leave Astoria and asked Eva if she would help him gain full custody of Scorpius since she knew how damaging his mother was.

But Ro didn’t know any of that.

“She’s his _mother_ , Evadne. It’s her _job_ to, well, mother him. Not yours.”

“You don’t understand,” she said tiredly, abandoning her spot. “Hey,” she said quietly in Malfoy’s ear as she passed him, “I’m gonna go. Think you can handle yourself alone just this once?”

He nodded.

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” She ruffled his hair and began walking back toward the castle.

Just when she reached the path leading to it, August blocked her way. “Did you and Ro have another disagreement?” he asked suspiciously.

Eva sighed. “Yes, August, we did. Now, I’d really like to say hello to Mum and Dad and then go to bed. I haven’t got the energy to deal with this right now.”

He seemed torn. “I don’t like it when you two don’t get along.”

She cupped his face in her hand. “I know. I really do try, most of the time. It’s just…we’re too different to get along for any significant amount of time.”

Frowning, he ducked his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets and toeing something in the dirt. “Do you wish I wasn’t with her?”

“To be perfectly honest, yes, sometimes I do wish that,” she confessed. “But I trust that you see something in her that’s worth your love.”

“Alright…as long as that stays true, I suppose she can stick around.” August met her eyes with a smirk, but it quickly disappeared. “Ro. Hi.”

Rohese smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “James is looking for you.”

“Okay, thanks.” He gave them each a kiss on the cheek before heading off to find his teammate.

“What exactly are you trying to—” Ro started.

Eva interrupted her. “Listen to me, cub—if you ever do _anything_ to hurt him, I’ll introduce you to a world of pain you could never even dream of.” Ro just gaped at her; Eva had never been openly hostile to her before, and her threat shocked them both, but she didn’t let her surprise show on her face. Instead, she turned around and left Ro standing there, staring after her, as she walked back to the castle.


	2. The New Kid

The first few weeks of the term passed with relative peace after that small confrontation, with Ro and Eva doing their best to stay out of the other’s way. If August noticed, he didn’t say anything about it; he was probably just relieved that they seemed to be getting along better.

At dinner on the seventeenth, exactly two weeks before Halloween, McGonagall announced that there would be a Halloween Ball—nearly every student was calling out asking for it to be a masquerade—and that a new student, a seventh-year, was to be joining them the next day. He would be Sorted at breakfast, and then join the rest of the students for normal classes. Instantly, every table was abuzz with talk of which House he would be placed in. No one was accustomed to a new student arriving this way, especially a seventh-year.

Sure enough, McGonagall led the new boy in the next morning. His shoulders were hunched and he held his head in a way that allowed him to hide his face behind chestnut hair which would have fallen to his chin if he stood up straight. Eva watched him closely, immediately fascinated by the way he walked: his movements were smooth, easy, with a light grace that would put any girl to shame, but there was something…not predatory, but nearly, that offset the grace, made it slightly unsettling.

He turned around when McGonagall stopped next to the stool with the Sorting Hat on it, at last straightening to his full height. Even from where she was, Eva could see the bright, icy green of his eyes and the expression saying, “You are all beneath me.” But then he crossed his arms, and everything about him that was confidence turned into uncertainty.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the Headmistress called, effectively silencing the room, “this is Damon Park. He is joining us from—”

“America,” Damon said, in an English accent.

“Right. Sit down, please.” He obeyed, and she set the Sorting Hat on his head. It thought for a few seconds before it belted out,

“Slytherin!”

Eva was sure Damon paled.

The only empty seat at the Slytherin table was next to Eva; Damon claimed it while his new Housemates cheered. Scorpius, sitting on Eva’s other side, leaned forward to see Damon better, and McGonagall told the room they could start eating.

“Hello,” Scorpius said with a rare lack of shyness. Eva tried not to grin.

Damon whipped his head in the third-year’s direction, sized the boy up, and finally replied with, “Hello. Who are you?”

“Scorpius Malfoy.”

He stretched his hand across Eva, sparing her a glance as she leaned back out of his way. Malfoy shook it. “Pleasure. And you?”

“Evadne Prince.” He let his hand hang in front of her; she took it, taken slightly by surprise at how hot it was. “Call me Eva. Welcome to Hogwarts.”

“Thanks.”

“So you’re from America?”

“Scorpius,” Eva muttered through her teeth.

The corner of Damon’s mouth lifted, if only barely. “Sort of. I lived in England until I was ten, but then my family moved to an English-dominated part of America. It was nothing special.”

“What made you come back?” Eva couldn’t help but ask, feeling Scorpius’ glare.

“I dunno. Guess they missed it.”

He turned to his plate to pile it with food, abruptly tuning them out. Eva bit her lip, hoping they hadn’t offended him. He seemed friendly enough, though; maybe he was just the quiet sort, like her.

She shifted her attention to the boy on her other side, quizzing him on all his subjects while they downed their breakfast. She thought a few times that Damon might be listening—mainly when Scorpius got an answer wrong and Damon twitched in their direction, as if he wanted to say it himself—but put the thought of her mind. Scorpius was more important than the new boy, and his mother had been sending him rude letters lately, so she wanted to keep his mind from them.

Besides, she had plenty of time to wonder about Damon in her classes. She was at the seventh-year level for about half her classes (Transfigurations, Potions, D.A.D.A., and Astronomy—both she and her brother took classes above their level every year because their parents and grandmother taught them over summer holidays), but for the rest, she was at the same level as the rest of her year.

She was right that he was quiet; he didn’t talk to anyone all day, at least in the classes they shared. Instead, when he wasn’t intent on his work, he people-watched. Eva caught him staring at her when she was returned to her work station, which was right next to his, after talking to her father during their Potions class. He didn’t even try to hide it.

“Are you his favorite or something?” he asked.

She started, shocked that he was talking. “I hope so. Why?”

He shrugged. “You just looked awfully comfortable with each other, that’s all.”

“Well, he _is_ my father.”

“But you said your last name was Prince…I figured Professor Prince was your mum,” he said, tilting his head and furrowing his brow.

Eva fidgeted nervously under his stare. “She’s my grandmother—my dad’s mum. The other Professor Snape is my mum. And I’m sure you’ve heard of August Prince by now?” He nodded. “That’s my brother. He’s a Gryffindor.”

“Why is so much of your family here?”

Great Merlin, why did he want to know? She asked him as much.

It was his turn to fidget nervously—while Eva hid her shock at making someone uncomfortable. “Oh, um, just—curious. Sorry. I’m not very good at interacting with people—tend to, well, do what I just did.”

Eva smiled a little. “I know how you feel.”

“Why haven’t you asked about my blood status?” he asked suddenly. “Every other Slytherin has today. Except for Scorpius. And you, obviously.”

She stammered, having not expected him to change the subject so quickly. When she recovered, she said, “I’m not a pure-blood myself, so I have no right asking whether or not you are.”

He frowned at that. “But the Snapes…”

Eva chuckled. “Both half-bloods, which makes me one, too.”

“Ah,” he murmured. “I’ll bet you’ve had a right fun time in Slytherin, then,” he said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

She glanced up at her father as he walked between the rows of cauldrons with a line between his eyes, remembering how hard he’d fought to ensure she wasn’t harassed by her classmates.

Eva turned back to her potion as she answered Damon. “My family helped me through it, but it’s definitely been a trying six years so far.”

“But I thought you were a—”

“Eva.”

“Yes, Dad? I mean, Professor?”

The dark man shook his head at her, amused, and let himself smile slightly. “I’d like to speak with you. Put your potion under a _stasis_ charm and come up here.” He returned to his desk so he could lean against the front edge of it.

Damon had gone back to his own work, and Eva made her way through the other students. When she reached Snape, he cast his _muffliato_ charm around them.

“How are you, dear?” he asked.

She crossed her arms with a smirk. “I’m well. But I know that’s not why you called me up here. You want to know about Damon, don’t you?”

He laughed quietly. “I’m afraid so. I got the feeling he wasn’t a pure-blood the second I saw him, and I was just wondering how he was holding up on his first day. However, I didn’t think he’d appreciate me asking—teenaged boys are like that.”

Eva rolled her eyes, but in a playful way. “The great Professor Snape, bowing to social rules. Mum would have a fit.” He pretended to glare disapprovingly, which only made her grin. “He hasn’t mentioned anything to me about whether not he’s a pure-blood, but I doubt he is. And he doesn’t seem to like the other Slytherins very much—apparently they’ve been asking him about his blood status all day.”

Severus shook his head sadly and briefly studied the chestnut-haired boy before he returned his attention to his daughter. “Even after all these years, there’s still blood prejudice. Unbelievable.”

“Not as bad as when you were in school, though, right?” she asked hopefully.

“No, not even close,” he admitted.” I’ve been hoping this desire to keep Slytherin a pure-blood House has since become habit, but sometimes I doubt that.”

“Looks like the pure-blood snobs are losing. There are two of us in Slytherin that aren’t pure-bloods. That’s a record.”

One side of his mouth turned up in a grin. “So it would seem. Get back to work, you’ve only twenty minutes left.”

Eva snorted. “Ha! I don’t even need ten.”

“Prove it.”

“Gladly.”

He lifted the charm with a chuckle and another shake of his head, going back to walking about the room to make sure no one blew anything up while she went back to her potion. True to her word, she had her potion finished, bottled, and on his desk in seven minutes. Catching his eye on the way to her desk, she beamed at him, earning a small, fond smile back.

The few students in the room that were in one or two of his other classes were always a little awestruck in this particular class, despite the fact that many of them had been in Potions with Eva since their first year. Snape was warmer around his daughter, more…human. When she walked out, he returned to his normal behavior of hitting students upside the head with their own schoolbooks if they stepped too far out of line.

He did not, however, sneer and bark insults when they asked for help or ruined a potion, even when she wasn’t around, and for that they were grateful.

Damon didn’t talk to Eva for the rest of the class, and anything outgoing about her had vanished once she wasn’t talking to her father, so she left him alone, pulling out a book to occupy herself until it was time to leave. 

* * *

 

August ambushed her after dinner. “I heard you talked to the new kid.”

She walked right by him, knowing he’d follow her. “His name is Damon; don’t you remember?”

“I know.”

“Then what do you want?” He didn’t usually beat around the bush like this.

She saw him biting his lip in her peripheral vision. “Did he mention anything about joining the Quidditch team? James said he’s been on the pitch for hours.”

“He never mentioned it. We didn’t talk long, really, just a couple of minutes. Why?”

“James said he was quick as a whip. If he joins Slytherin’s team, we’re in trouble.”

Eva shrugged. “You’ll have to talk to him about it.”

“Evadne!” someone shouted happily, right before a body barreled into Eva from behind. Pale arms circled her waist, with one hand clutching a piece of parchment.

While August was bent double laughing at the expression on her face, she twisted to see who was attached to her back.

“Blimey, Malfoy, you’re gonna scare me to death one of these days. What’s that you’ve got?”

He let her go, positively bouncing with joy, the smile on his face brighter than she’d seen it in a long time. “I got an ‘O’ on my Transfigurations exam!”

“Well done!” She pulled him into a hug. “Let me see!” He handed her the test, and she skimmed over it, recognizing her grandmother’s handwriting in the comments on the sides of the paper. They were all positive, praising his knowledge on the subject, except for a very short one toward the end, correcting the only answer he’d gotten wrong. “Scorpius, this is absolutely brilliant!”

August whistled. “You look like a proud mother, Eva.”

“Hey, I spend my summers and weekends tutoring him; of course I’m proud!”

Scorpius snatched the parchment from her hand. “Can I go show Rose?”

“‘Can you?’” she chuckled. “I’m not your mum, love, not even your sister. Go show her if you want.”

She thought she heard him mumble something about wishing she _was_ his sister as he ran off toward a crowd of Gryffindors, but she couldn’t be sure.

“Where’s Rohese?” she asked August, noticing the other girl’s absence. She’d gotten used to Rohese being attached to August 24/7.

“She wanted to talk to Sprout about her Herbology grade; that class was never her forte. I don’t understand why she insists on taking it every year.” He sighed, tilting his head back to gaze at the high ceiling for a moment. “But she always manages to pass. Complains a lot, though.”

As if speaking of her had conjured her—which seemed to be the trend this year—Ro appeared at August’s side a few seconds later, giving him a bright smile but ignoring Eva completely.

“I want to show you something,” she said excitedly.

August managed to wave a quick goodbye to Eva before Ro dragged him off. She waved back and watched them go, feeling more depressed the farther away they got. There was still something about Ro that bothered her, but she was no closer to figuring out what it was than she had been a month ago.

Resigning herself to the likelihood that she’d be spending the evening alone with a book and hiding from the rest of Slytherin, she started in the direction of the dungeons and her House’s common room. It was mostly empty when she arrived, and the only people there were on their way somewhere else—most were going back to the main castle to socialize until curfew.

Eva made straight for the bathrooms, thinking a hot shower would get her mind off Ro. She fully expected someone to run into her—an almost nightly occurrence (no one ever went after her outright anymore, but they still didn’t like her much). However, she didn’t expect that person to be Damon.

“Merlin’s beard, boy, you’re everywhere!” she exclaimed once she realized who it was.

He rushed to pull his shirt over his head, which was what he’d been about to do when they ran into each other, but Eva saw the scars he was trying to hide anyway. There were three angry red marks, starting at the base of his neck on the right side and extending straight to the left side of his ribs, about halfway between his elbow and his shoulder. And on that shoulder was a scarred bite; whatever had made the mark must have been huge.

His face, when she could see it, was redder than a Gryffindor’s Quidditch robes.

Speaking of Quidditch… “August said you were on the Quidditch pitch today?”

His eyes narrowed. “I was. Why?”

“Nothing, really, it just made him curious if you were thinking about joining Slytherin’s team.”

Damon raised an eyebrow at her. “Why should he care?”

Her feet were suddenly fascinating. “He thought I might know if you were interested in playing.” That wasn’t the whole truth, but she didn’t think August would appreciate her telling Damon the full reason.

“Well, tell him I don’t want to play, if you want.” He stalked off.

When she was sure he was out of sight, she fell against the wall and sighed heavily. “Great gods. Quit being such a nervous wreck around people,” she told herself.

“What was that?” Damon called from the end of the hall, popping his head around the corner.

It was all Eva could do not to scream and jump out of her skin. “Nothing, nothing, just talking to myself.”

He nodded, left for good this time, and Eva slunk into the girls’ bathroom, needing that hot shower even more. 

* * *

 

Over the next week, Eva couldn’t help watching Damon. Most everyone else was watching him, too, so perhaps that was why he seemed to retreat into himself as often as he did. Even then, though, he was so obviously not as oblivious as he tried to appear. He twitched at every small sound in a silent room, scanned any area he was in every ten minutes, and _never_ relaxed—not once did Eva see him let the tension out of his body, like he was a trapped animal, ready to bolt at any second.

The only times he seemed to willingly participate in conversation were during his and Eva’s shared Potions and Astronomy classes, meals (during which he would, without fail, sit on Eva’s right side), and whenever she or Scorpius ran into him. August noticed this almost immediately because he was in their Transfigurations class, as well as Charms and Ancient Runes with Damon—where he never opened his mouth but to address the professors.

That weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend; nearly every student would be going to the small village to buy clothes for the ball, which Headmistress McGonagall had informed them would, indeed, be a masquerade. Whether or not this was done in order to please the students, no one cared; they were all just excited to be allowed to add that little bit of mystery to the night.

Eva and August waited just outside Hogsmeade with Rohese for Scorpius to join them before they set off on their shopping, as they did for each of these weekends. The Snapes and Eileen had already gone off in separate directions to make sure the rest of the students were behaving properly. The temperature had dropped, Eva hadn’t brought a thick enough cloak, and August had already given his to Ro, so by the time they saw Scorpius, Eva was hugging herself and more than ready to get inside one of the shops.

When she saw that the young Malfoy had decided to bring Damon along, Evadne couldn’t decide if she was annoyed or glad that he wouldn’t be shopping alone.

Damon smiled shyly, waving a greeting to the small group. “Mind if I join you?” he asked uncertainly.

For some reason, August looked to Eva to approve or deny that.

She stammered for a moment. “Uh, no. I mean, no, we don’t mind. Now come on, it’s freezing out here.”

As Scorpius huddled close to her side to share his body heat, they all started for a small shop toward the end of the row of buildings that most of the other students hadn’t gotten to yet. Something warm and soft fell across Eva’s shoulders just when the wind picked up, and a hood was tossed over her head. Her head whipped to the side, found nothing, and turned the other way, finding Damon without a cloak and the scent of earth and leaves around her.

She was certain he was avoiding her eyes.

“Thank you,” she said, pulling it tighter around her. At least three inches of it dragged along the ground.

He nodded.

“Eva,” August called once they were inside. “Has anyone asked you to the ball yet?”

She bit her lip. No one ever asked her—Scorpius had been her “date” since he’d started at Hogwarts. “Well, no. I’d imagined I was going to bring Malfoy…”

Her brother and Scorpius grimaced. Rohese had no reaction, but Eva had a feeling she wanted to roll her eyes, or something of the like.

“I forgot to tell you…I asked Rose if she would go with me…”

Eva tried to keep from looking overly disappointed, thinking it would seem more than a little pathetic. “Well, then, I’ll have to find someone else.”

“You could go with me,” Damon offered. She half-expected him to turn shy after that, but he had no difficulty holding her gaze then.

“Oh, um, s-sure. Yes.” _Ugh, could you_ be _any more ridiculous?_ she snapped at herself.

His eyes narrowed and he seemed to glare at her. “You’re not just saying yes because I’m new and don’t really know anyone but you and Scorpius, are you?”

Her own eyes widened. “No! Of course not!”

“She may be quiet,” August chuckled, “but she does nothing out of pity.”

“Thank you.”

“Alright, sorry. You understand, though, why I thought—?”

“Yes,” Ro interrupted. “We get it. Now, could we please start looking for costumes before the rest of the school clears out all the good ones?”

August scowled, glanced down at her, and just stared for a few seconds.

“What?” she barked.

He led her away, speaking quietly in hopes that the others wouldn’t hear him. “What’s the matter with you lately?”

Eva turned on her heel and walked in the opposite direction, dragging a very curious-looking Scorpius by his tie. “Let’s leave them alone. Best not to get between them when she’s angry. Sparks tend to fly. And not the good kind.”

Damon followed, easily keeping up with them even though Eva had thought she was moving rather quickly. “What do you mean?”

Scorpius snorted. “She tries to hex him whenever she’s angry and he tries to get her to calm down.”

“Been like that since they started dating. You’d think five years would have seen some improvement in that aspect of the relationship.” She released Scorpius, who nearly fell over at the sudden loss of support.

He caught himself on Eva, which only threatened to end up bringing her down with him. Damon made a grab for Eva’s arm, steadying her before she could topple onto Malfoy. She automatically clutched the front of his school sweater, and Scorpius anchored himself on her borrowed cloak.

Without missing a beat, Damon asked, “If she tries to hurt him when she’s angry, why did you just walk away from them?”

Sensing the accusatory note in his voice, Eva quickly explained, “He can defend himself from the likes of her in his sleep. Our family continues teaching us even when school’s not in session—that’s why I’m in half your classes—so he’s a much better wizard than she is.”

Scorpius ran off and promptly got lost between two rows of costumes as Damon nodded. “I see. In that case, would you mind extending your tutoring to me?” He smiled, for the first time Eva had ever seen.

In all honesty, it nearly knocked her off her feet. His entire face lit up. “H-How did you know I tutor anyone?” She forced herself to start sifting through the many outfits on the rack next to her.

That smile never leaving his lips, he dared to laugh quietly. “I _know_ you’ve noticed that I sit next to you at every meal. You fling questions at Scorpius like it’s your responsibility to teach him everything.”

She shrugged, still examining her available costume options. “He has a hard time with everything, mostly because his mother’s a bi—” Stopping herself and glancing around to make sure Scorpius was nowhere in sight, she shook her head at herself and spun around to face Damon. “She’s not the sort of woman that should have a child, in my opinion. She never shows him any love whatsoever. Did you know he got top marks on his last test, and all she replied with when he sent her a letter about it was that he should have known the answer to the _only_ question he got wrong and how disappointed she was? I’ve stayed with them the last two summers, because they both work full-time and someone needs to look after Scorpius since he’s so young. She has sent him to bed crying so many times I lost count the first summer. And _then_ she keeps Draco occupied with a screaming match just so he can’t go comfort his son! Then _I_ end up doing it, and she yells at me the next day. I can’t yell back at her, so Scorpius has to watch _me_ get screamed at, too, and now Draco is going to divorce her, thank Merlin—”

“Evadne,” Damon murmured, cutting off her rant and resting his hands on her shoulders.

She stopped, breathing heavily. “Sorry.”

He met her gaze. “It’s alright. He means a lot to you.”

“He does.”

“Mister Malfoy will be trying for full custody, I’m assuming?”

“Clearly.”

“Will you be helping him?”

“Of course.”

“Just go in and start up on a tangent like that, then, and that battle will be over in seconds.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks.”

Damon let her go to lead her toward a different section of the shop since it didn’t look like they’d find anything where they were already. Eva took a deep, calming breath as she followed him, her mind reeling, both because of Scorpius’ dysfunctional family and Damon.

Scorpius she could handle: fight tooth and nail toward the best outcome for him. Damon, however, was confusing her: he was somewhat of a recluse in school and stuck to her or Scorpius’ side when he was able, and then turning into some strange, social creature with a chivalrous streak and not an ounce of his typical reserved attitude when he was alone with the two “non-traditional” Slytherins. _This is why you don’t have friends. This is why you only go out because August and Scorpius make you. People are too bloody confusing._


	3. The Halloween Ball

The group spent the day searching the for costumes, becoming so engrossed in their task that, by the time they left, they barely had long enough to get to their common rooms before curfew. Scorpius wouldn’t stop talking about how pretty Eva had looked in the dress he’d found while searching for his own outfit (he and Rose had agreed ahead of time to go as a snake and lion), which led August to try to persuade her into telling them what it was, since she and Scorpius were the only ones who knew; Eva hadn’t even let Damon see it, wanting to keep it a surprise. Once she’d decided on it, she knew it would shock people, and something inside her was itching to see the other students’ reactions.

She did, however, give him enough of a hint for him to find a costume that would “match.”

“It’s got to do with life. That’s all I’m saying.”

August still didn’t leave her alone in the week preceding the ball. After two days, she just started ignoring him, though he often made her laugh with how desperately he wanted to know. Damon also came out of his shell, if only a little—August’ circle of friends got together again; he joined them, but refused to talk to anyone. Still, it was a start, so Eva didn’t try to coax him into conversation. Scorpius, meanwhile, was still in awe that Rose had agreed to be his date.

During Damon and Eva’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class, two days before the ball, her mother was starting them on the more advanced defense and attack spells. After demonstrating a few of them, she put the class in pairs and instructed them to take turns in the offensive and defensive roles until they had the spells mastered or it was time to leave. Because she knew about Damon and Eva’s sort-of friendship, she put them together.

The two of them found an area on the edge of the room and faced each other, with Damon’s back to the wall and Eva’s to the rest of the room, and drew their wands. They decided that Eva would be doing the attacking first and began, at first slow with the spells on each side, but later settling into a rhythm which modeled a duel while about half of the others struggled.

The spells they were using gave off blue and green light, so when a flash of light lit the room in red, everyone stopped moving—except for Damon. He cast the protection spell, but it went flying out past Eva instead of blocking the spell Eva had sent his way at the same time as the flash. Next thing anyone knew, Damon was on the floor, groaning in pain, and Lysandra was standing next to her daughter, wand drawn, furious and shouting.

“Which one of you has the _nerve_ to cast that curse in my class—and against my own _daughter_?”

“Slytherin,” Damon croaked.

“Oh, for the love of Merlin!” she shouted again. “Give me your wands! All of you! I was under the impression you lot were past all this nonsense.” She snatched wands from the Slytherins’ hands, but allowed Eva and Damon to keep theirs, for obvious reasons. Mumbling angrily to herself, she took them to her desk, saying, “ _Prior Incantato_ ,” over each.

The Slytherins hung close to each other; this Professor Snape was just as explosive as her husband when angered enough. And she looked ready to send a hex to whoever had so foolishly gone after Eva.

Surprised and not surprisedat the same time, Eva knelt next to Damon. “Are you alright?” she asked quietly.

He nodded, eyes squeezed shut. “Yep. Just hurts a bit. Should go away in a few minutes.”

“Here—” she muttered a healing charm.

He relaxed instantly, letting out a breath he’d clearly been holding. “Thank you.”

“Thank _you_.”

“Erin Callahan!” Lysandra screeched.

A girl in Slytherin robes stepped forward as her Housemates parted. She looked her professor right in the eye, shameless. “Professor Snape.”

“Class dismissed. Take your wands. Come with me, girl.” She picked up what must have been Callahan’s wand, grabbed the girl’s arm, and almost dragged her out of the room. No one moved until they were sure she was gone.

“Where’s she taking her?” Damon asked, confused, still on the floor.

Eva sat properly on the floor as the room emptied of everyone but the two of them. “To my father. He’s the Head of Slytherin House, so he decides what to do with her. It’s not going to be pretty. I don’t think they’ll do it this time, but both my parents—my entire family, actually—have a history of ignoring school rules when another student goes after me in any way.”

“Wow.”

She sighed. “Yeah. Well, no one can say they don’t love me.”

“You got that right. Your whole family, you said? Do you have older brothers or sisters that graduated?”

She never _had_ clarified to him that it wasn’t only part of her family that attended or taught at the school. “No, my family here is the only family any of us has.”

Damon frowned. “But what about your grandfather? And your mother’s parents? No aunts or uncles? Cousins?”

Eva cocked an eyebrow at him.

“I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

She chuckled. “Yes.”

Color started to creep its way up his neck.

“But, to answer your numerous questions, no, we don’t have any other relatives. Neither of my parents have any siblings. My dad’s father is dead.” Severus had told her a few stories about his father. She shivered just thinking about them. “His mum’s family is dead, too. And my mum’s family doesn’t talk to her anymore because of what she had to do during the war.”

Damon grimaced. “I’m sorry. It must be horrible to not know almost all your family.”

“Eh.” She shrugged. “It’s hard to miss people you never knew. And from what August and I have been told, we’re better off without them.”

“Oh. In that case, I suppose congratulations may be in order…?”

She laughed outright then. “Thanks. I think. Come on, though, we should leave. It was near the end of class when Mum left, and I told Scor I’d meet him for lunch.”

“If we must,” he sighed, with the slightest of grins. He picked himself up easily, displaying the same animalistic grace he had on his first day, and offered his hand. When Eva took it, he hauled her to her feet effortlessly. “Where is he?”

“Transfigurations.”

“Lead the way.”

She smirked over her shoulder at him after gathering her books, heading for the door. “What, still can’t find your way around without help?”

He hung his head as if in disgrace. “Yes. It’s terrible. I’ve no idea how I’ve gotten to all my classes on time.”

“Indeed.” 

* * *

 

There were only a few minutes left of class when they reached the Transfigurations room. Eileen nodded to them when she noticed they were there, not faltering as she told her class what their homework was. When they were dismissed, she crooked a finger at Eva. She told Damon she’d be back in a moment, asked Scorpius to wait for her, and walked to the front of the room.

“I saw your mother storm by here with one of your Housemates,” Eileen started. “What happened?”

“She tried to curse me. The Slytherin girl. Not my mum.”

Eileen rolled her eyes. “Great Merlin. Are you alright?”

Eva nodded.

“Good. I was just curious. Run along, now, love.” She kissed the side of her granddaughter’s forehead before she turned back to her friends.

“What was that about?” Scorpius asked, nosy as ever.

“Nothing you need to worry about.” She ruffled his hair, noticing the way Damon tilted his head next to her.

She looked at him, and he frowned again.

Shaking her head, she mouthed, “He has enough to worry about,” and Damon nodded in understanding, no doubt remembering her rant from the other day.

Neither of the Snapes attended the meal, which didn’t surprise her, but August asked her about it and then nearly went on his own rampage. She’d just barely managed to calm him down when Rohese came storming over, demanding to know what Eva had done to get him upset.

Eva’s eyebrows shot into her hairline while Scorpius hid behind her. “Excuse me, but I don’t believe you have any right to get involved,” she snapped.

“He’s my _boyfriend_ , I have every right to!” Ro snapped right back.

“Well he’s my _brother_ , and sister trumps girlfriend any day, so back the bloody hell off.”

“Ladies,” August spoke over them. They both turned their glares on him. He gulped—Ro he could handle, but Eva was a whole other story. “Let’s just…calm down. The problem’s been taken care off anyway.”

“What _was_ the problem?” Ro questioned.

“Some brat Slytherin girl went after Eva in Defense. Mum and Dad are taking care of it. Everything’s fine.”

Ro fixed her glare on Eva this time. “What did you do to provoke her?”

“ _Provoke_ her?” Eva exclaimed.

“ _Rohese_!” August yelled at the same time.

Damon stepped into Ro, getting close enough that there was less than half a foot between them. Any boldness Ro had left her. “I think you ought to walk away now,” he said in a low, dangerous voice.

August and Eva’s eyes widened. Ro turned on her heel, made some sort of indignant noise, and stalked off.

“Thanks…again…” Eva said, stunned.

Damon nodded once and left them to find a place to sit. Scorpius detached himself from Eva to follow him, hoping to save a seat for her.

“Well,” August said. “That was…interesting.”

Eva shook her head. “I haven’t talked to her in weeks. I have no idea where that came from.”

His shoulders slumped. “If she doesn’t get her act together, I’m going to have to leave her.”

She sighed. Sometimes it was easy to forgot how much he loved Ro. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too. Guess I should go find her…”

Eva kissed his cheek. “Good luck.”

He took a deep, steadying breath, and walked off in the direction Ro had gone.

“What was that about Defense, Eva?” Scorpius asked when she took her usual place between him and Damon.

She bit her lip as she filled her plate. “Nothing, really, just a mishap with one of the spells we were practicing. Nothing for you to worry about.”

With a shrug, he turned his attention to his own food. Eva sighed in relief, glad he wasn’t going to press the issue. Damon gave her a questioning glance; she shook her head slightly, intending to tell him later, while Scor wasn’t around or after he went to bed.

She and Damon stayed in the common room after dinner, helping each other study for the classes they shared. The other Slytherins stayed as far away from them as possible, eyeing Damon oddly almost constantly. Eva frowned when she noticed, giving him the same questioning look he’d given her earlier. He wrote something on the side of his homework and passed it to her: _Made a bit of a spectacle of myself in Charms. Tell you about it later?_ Smirking and shaking her head at him, she wrote back that that would be fine.

After everyone else had gone to bed, Scorpius interrupted their study session briefly, having returned from an evening hanging out with Rose and her friends, just before curfew. He recapped what happened for them—which was nothing overly exciting, but he was still ecstatic to just be talking to her—and then announced he was going to bed. He hugged an amused Eva, started for the stairs, and stopped. Eva asked what was wrong, but he just turned around, ran over to Damon lounging in his chair, and hugged him, too.

“Thanks for standing up for Eva,” he murmured, before scampering up to his dorm.

Damon stared after him, mouth agape.

Eva giggled. “Good job.”

“On what, exactly?”

“You’re officially his friend.”

His expression didn’t change. “How about telling me whatever it is you wouldn’t talk about at lunch now?”

“I didn’t want to tell Scorpius about what happened in Defense because he has enough to worry about with his Mum. I don’t want him worrying about me, too. I just hope he doesn’t have to deal with her next year when I won’t be here,” she confessed.

“I stand by what I said in Hogsmeade: If you go into court with the same rant you gave me, Draco will have full custody of Scorpius easily,” Damon assured.

“We’ve been talking a little; I told Draco that. He hopes your right.”

“He’s not bothered that you’re talking about it with other people?”

She shook her head. “He trusts me to know who I can give that sort of information to. Dad likes to say I would’ve made a perfect spy.”

He chuckled; she was relieved to see he was laughing more often now. “I agree.”

“So, what happened in Charms that’s got everyone giving you funny looks?”

Damon cleared his throat and straightened up a little. “Uh, well, you see, I misheard the incantation for the spell Flitwick was teaching us, and, um, I, you know, set a couple girls’ hair on fire. Then I tried to put it out. That set their robes ones fire. Suffice it to say, everyone thinks I did it on purpose.”

Eva couldn’t help it; she laughed so hard her papers fell off her lap. “That’s gold,” she said when she could catch her breath, and continued laughing.

“It can’t be _that_ funny, I mean, really.” But he broke out into a grin of his own, trying to hide it behind a hand, and eventually had to bury his face in his homework as his shoulders shook with laughter. “Okay, it is,” he said, voice muffled by his papers. 

* * *

 

On the night of the ball, Evadne misjudged how long it would take her to get ready. Almost everyone else had gone by the time she finished putting on the make-up and arranging her hair. On her way out of the dorm, she checked herself in the mirror to make sure everything was right.

She’d charmed her wavy hair with streaks to match the colors in the gown, and the gold, red-feathered mask—held in place by a charm—that covered the top half of her face made her blue eyes stand out so brilliantly that even she was having difficulty looking away from her reflection. The make-up was a shade if orange that almost blended into her skin and contained something shimmery; it covered all of her face, even under the mask, as well as her neck, chest, back, and hands.

Her dress was a blood-red color, fading to sunset gold at the hem and short train. The collar was off-the-shoulder; it had a V-back deep enough to make her nervous about her parents’ reactions; the neckline showed the barest amount of cleavage; and gold and red beads were sewn into the fabric all over. It had fitted point sleeves that covered half her hands, but hanging from the sleeves were red-and-gold wings, with real—albeit dyed—feathers.

Finally ready, Evadne walked slowly down the stairs to the common room, watching her feet, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn’t fall in her heels.

“I still can’t believe you’re going as Death,” She said when she reached the last step.

Damon, dressed as the Grim Reaper in a night-black cloak with a hood that cast his face in complete darkness and carrying an awfully convincing scythe, whirled around. She couldn’t see his expression, but after a moment he pushed the hood back to reveal one of reverence. His black mask nearly slipped out of his hand, which was painted a sickly gray color like the rest of his skin.

“You look…” He shook himself. “You’re beautiful.”

She smiled. “Thank you. And you look rather intimidating.”

He huffed a laugh. “Me? Next to you, I’ll seem like a cuddly bunny.”

She rolled her eyes. “I seriously doubt that. Shall we go?”

Damon nodded, fixed his mask in place, pulled his hood back up, and offered her his arm. She took it gratefully, still worried about falling over.

In the Great Hall, quite a few of the male students, and even some of the girls, openly ogled her when she and Damon walked in. It was obvious that none of them realized who she and Damon were, because if they did, they wouldn’t have approached them so easily. It was a full five minutes before they were able to move about the room without someone catching on of their free arms and giving them some sort of compliment on their costumes.

Scorpius and Rose found her before her brother could. Her fellow Slytherin, dressed as a lion, had a hood that made five inches taller, what with the amount of fur on it. Rose’s dress was sleek, green, and covered in designs of scales. Both of their masks covered their entire faces, Scor’s showing a lion’s face and Rose’s that of a serpent’s.

“Wow!” the young Gryffindor said, drinking in the older girl’s gown. “It’s so pretty!”

“Thank you,” Eva said, for about the hundredth time.

“I found it!” Scorpius announced proudly, puffing out his chest.

Eva chuckled. “You did indeed.”

“Death and a phoenix. How ironic,” August remarked with a grin, appearing on Eva’s left with Rohese at his side. “You look wonderful, Eva.”

“So do you, Dracula,” she teased.

Scorpius and Rose whispered to each other for a few seconds and then ran off without so much as a goodbye.

“Why thank you.” He swept her a bow, fanning his black duster out behind him. When he straightened, the collar was up, almost touching his ears. If the rest of his clothes didn’t have spots of silver on them, she wouldn’t have been able to tell where his shirt ended and his trousers began. “I keep telling Ro she looks like a succubus, but she doesn’t believe me.”

The other girl crossed her arms over the black-and-silver bodice on her sleeveless dress. Actually, it was more like a corset at the top, with slits on each side of the skirt that stopped midway up her thighs. The heels, Eva noticed, were sharp enough to stab someone with.

She nodded in agreement with her brother. “You really do, actually. Not that it’s a bad thing—I’m sure you’ve already got half the room pining for you.”

Ro looked her up and down, once, and walked away.

“For pity’s sake,” August muttered, dropping his face in his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, just like their father did, “can’t she relax for _one_ night?”

“Have you talked to Mum or Dad about her? Surely one of them will know what to do,” she suggested.

August shrugged. “No, I haven’t had the chance.”

“Why don’t you ask them about it tomorrow, then? Go goof off with the rest of your friends and enjoy the ball tonight, and worry about your relationship problems in the morning.”

“I suppose. What will you two be doing?”

“I’m not sure, actually.”

“Evadne Prince!” Her mother’s voice exclaimed behind her.

Already blushing and glad the make-up hid it, she bit her lip and tuned around, as did Damon because she was still attached to his side. August, on the other hand, scurried off to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

“Yes, Mum?” Eva asked warily.

Her mother, dressed in an emerald gown, had her hands on her hips; her father, in his usual black but wearing more formal robes, was next to her. She couldn’t read either of their expressions.

“I didn’t expect anything like this from you,” Lysandra said.

Eva hung her head. Damon tensed.

She stepped closer and crooked two fingers under her chin to raise her face. “I didn’t say you’re in trouble, did I?”

“No.”

“No,” Lysandra echoed. “Quite honestly, I’m a little jealous. You are absolutely beautiful. Every boys’ eyes are glued to you.” She glanced at Damon, but didn’t say anything to him. “You nearly gave your father a heart attack, by the way.”

Eva grinned, shifting her eyes to her father. “Sorry, Dad.”

Severus shook his head and gave Damon a level look, not at all fazed by not being able to see the boy’s face. “Don’t do anything that will make me dislike you,” he warned.

Damon swallowed, tensed even more, if possible, and nodded once. “I-I’ll do my best, sir.”

“Yes, you will.”

“Dad!” Eva whined. “Stop trying to scare him! We’re only here as friends.”

“‘Trying?’” Damon muttered. “I’d say he’s doing a rather fantastic job of it, actually.”

Severus wanted to tell her that it didn’t matter with a dress like hers, but he bit his tongue and leaned forward to kiss the top of her head instead. “You know I have to.”

“Alright, run along,” Lysandra ordered. “I won’t have you wasting the night talking to your parents.”

They let themselves be shooed away, and Damon immediately let out the breath he’d been holding once the Snapes were out of sight. “Even Death is afraid of the Potions Master.”, he said to himself. “Let’s dance, shall we?”

Eva smirked. “Certainly.”

He led her toward the dance floor, only holding one of her hands so they move through the crowd easier without losing each other. Once among the swaying couples, he placed one hand on her hip, she placed one on his same shoulder, and they kept their other hands together.

“You should know, I don’t really know how to dance,” Eva confessed.

She could just see Damon’s wicked smile. “I do.”

“Oh, I can already tell this is going to be interesting.”

The song was one of the faster ones that had been played since Damon and Eva arrived, and, before long, he was guiding her in quick steps. He took every opportunity to bring into some sort of turn that let her extend one of both of her arms, making her fly across the dance floor. She picked up his patterns after a few songs, allowing her do more than just react to whatever he was doing.

Soon enough, it turned into a competition. Darkness and fire danced back and forth, death and rebirth challenging each other to be the best. Damon may have been the one that knew how to dance, but she’d spent her entire life losing herself in any form of escape she could find; letting the music guide her feet was as simple and natural as breathing. Her dress flared out around her, just as Damon’s cloak did.

She couldn’t tell if their dance looked more like Death chasing a phoenix, the other way around, or something else, but it was impossible not to notice how many people had stopped to watch them.

_I feel like…what’s that old fairytale called? Cinderella. I feel a lot like Cinderella._

By the time Damon pulled her close and didn’t let her move away again, ending the dance, both were having trouble catching their breath. Over his shoulder, Eva glanced her mother and grandmother with wide smiles on their faces, while her father watched them with narrowed eyes. She knew instantly that he’d used Legilimency on Damon and guessed he wasn’t pleased with what he’d found.

Her nerves were back.

“Excuse me,” she panted. “I’ll just be a moment.”

Damon let her go, following her until she passed the drinks; it seemed he would wait for her there.

“What did you find?” she asked Severus as soon as she was close enough for him to hear her.

Eileen and Lysandra immediately burst into laughter.

He glared at them, but spoke to Evadne. “Nothing you shouldn’t figure out on your own soon enough.” Then he turned his onyx eyes on her. “Knowing you, I’m downright shocked you haven’t already done so.”

“Figure out about what? Damon?”

He raised his hands on surrender. “I will say no more. It’s not my place.”

“Why? You usually jump at such an opportunity.”

The other two professors laughed harder, leaning on each other slightly.

Severus glared at them again. “Because this particular secret, if it can even be called that, is one I am no stranger to.”

That shut them up.

Eva frowned, thoroughly confused. “Okay, I’m going to leave before you start to make even less sense than you already are.”

She went to find Damon, but he wasn’t near the food or drinks. Confused again, she grabbed a plate and a few snacks to nibble on while she searched for him. She ran into August almost right away, but he didn’t have a clue where Damon could be. He told her he’d help her look, but Ro had gone missing, too, so he’d tell Damon she was looking for him if he ran into him.

She finished the snacks she’d picked up and banished the plate to wherever it belonged after being used, and surveyed the Great Hall one last time before she slipped out of the huge room; maybe Damon had left for some reason. She slipped out of her heels as she walked because they were starting to hurt her feet, but it tuned out she didn’t have far to go.

“They’re going to find out sooner or later,” a familiar voice hissed. “I’m surprised they haven’t yet, what with Snape being a Legilimens.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, beast” a second, also familiar, voice countered.

The first person let out an annoyed sigh. “I could tell them whenever I want. You know that. Why don’t you just leave them alone? You’re already slipping up. You know _she_ isn’t going to be pleased—if you guys ever—”

“ _She_ hand-picked me for this six years ago. She even told me how to make sure I didn’t get Sorted into Slytherin so I was less likely to be suspect. You can’t defend your little girlfriend forever, you know. The fact that you had to enroll here means something spooked your superiors.”

“One: she’s not my girlfriend. There’s nothing romantic about the way she sees me. Two: I’ve seen your grades. You’re barely passing.”

“You fell for that? _Wow_. I do that on purpose, you idiot!”

There was a smug note to the first voice now. “How easily you give up information when your pride is injured…I’ll have to remember that.”

The second voice growled, and quick footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing quieter by the second; the person was walking away. Eva was waiting for a second pair of footsteps when Death came around the corner.

“Evadne!” he shrieked, as his hood fell off his head.

“Damon?”

He swore.

She narrowed her eyes at him, much like her father had. “What was that about?”

“Nothing,” he said too quickly.

“I don’t believe you.

“Well, I can’t tell you anyway, so either let it go or I’ll have to Obliviate you.”

“Not a chance.”

He sighed again. “You asked for it.” His wand slid into his right hand from somewhere inside his sleeve.

Behind her back, she let hers do the same into her left hand.

Damon brought his wand up, level with her forehead, and she raised hers to his temple.

“Do you _really_ think I’m going to let you do that?”

He clenched his jaw. “I mean it, Eva. I can’t have you poking around trying to figure me out—for your own safety, and your family’s. I’m having a difficult enough time keeping your father from figuring it out; if I have to deal with you too, everything will fall apart.”

Eva couldn’t ignore the honesty in his eyes, but she bit her lip, staring at him, never lowering her wand. “Why should I believe you?”

“Because I’m trying to protect you—that’s all I’m allowed to say.”

“I’m not going to leave this alone.”

“Actually, you are.” Faster than she thought possible, his left hand snatched her wand from her hand.

In the next second, he was holding it out to her, his own out of sight. “Here, this fell out of your sleeve.”

“Thanks.” She took it and slid it back into her sleeve, wondering how she hadn’t noticed. “What are you doing out here? I’ve been looking for you for ages.”

He shrugged, pulling his hood up. “Just wandering. I’m assuming you’d like to return to the party?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“As the lady wishes.”

She rolled his eyes, but took his offered arm and let him lead her back inside.


End file.
